You might think that moms and dads can name their children anything they want, but that’s not always the case. Many countries around the world have naming laws that put restrictions on the names that parents are allowed to legally give to their children. This is usually done to protect the child from having an offensive or embarrassing name.

In some cases, authorities govern the meaning of the name, while others only govern the scripts in which it is written. For example, authorities may reject a name written in cursive script. The overall appearance of the name needs to be clean and precise. Pandas, let’s have a look at the naming laws of different countries.

Denmark has very strict naming laws. Under the Law on Personal Names, parents are allowed to pick a first name from a list of pre-approved names. Wikipedia points out that the list, as of January 1, 2016, consists of 18,000 female names and 15,000 male names.

If you wish to give your child a name that isn’t on the list, you will have to get permission from the local church. Once they approve it, the name will be further reviewed by government officials. If you use creative spelling for common names, chances are it will get rejected. While deciding on a name, people must follow Danish orthography. Denmark also has laws that protect rare Danish last names.

In Finland, parents must inform the population registry about their newborn’s name within two months of the birth. While they can mostly choose the name freely, there are a few restrictions. They can’t use a name that is primarily used by people of the other sex.

However, this can be quite tricky in today's time when names are gender neutral. Kids can’t have the exact same name as their siblings. Well, sharing toys with brothers and sisters is annoying. Imagine sharing a name.

Interestingly, in China, the government wants parents to choose children names that are readable by computer scanners. Using simplified characters over traditional Chinese ones makes it easier to use the national identification card. So, parents can technically name their kids whatever they want, except for using numbers and non-Chinese symbols.

The recent rules don't allow the use of Chinese characters that are not represented on the computer. Out of nearly 70,000 Chinese characters, only about 13,000 are represented on the computer.

Earlier, Indonesia didn’t have much regulation on names. But now the Recording of Names on Residence Document regulates the process. Names are required to be written in the Latin script, and they should have two words or more and less than 60 characters, including spaces. Also, using names with multiple or negative meanings is not allowed.

In Malaysia, the National Registration Department has stopped allowing objectionable or undesirable names since 2006. This means that you can’t name your baby after titles, numbers, colors, vegetables, or fruits. Parents are also forbidden from using vulgar names.

The Births, Deaths, and Marriages Registration Act of 1995 in New Zealand doesn't allow any name that "might cause offense to a reasonable person; or [...] is unreasonably long; or without adequate justification, [...] is, includes, or resembles an official title or rank." Every year, officials release a list of the most commonly rejected names, like King, Prince, Captain, and Messiah.

New Zealand’s registrar, Russell Burnard, said, “Names are a gift, and they are an important part of a person’s identity. We encourage parents to think about their child and how they might feel about their name later in life.”

In the USA, restrictions vary by state, and that’s mostly due to practical reasons. For instance, in some states, the number of characters is based on the limit of the software used for official record-keeping. Similarly, some states ban the use of pictograms.

Conversely, a few states, such as Kentucky, don’t have any naming laws at all.

It’s interesting to see how the fate of your name can lie in the hands of your parents and the law of the city you were born in. For kids and adults alike, having a bad name might lead to embarrassing moments like friends or colleagues making fun of them. When you have a bizarre name, it’s awkward to introduce yourself at social gatherings. Sometimes people also feel disconnected with their unconventional names. Individuals with uncommon names may encounter difficulties in official documentation as well.

Parents have a huge responsibility when it comes to naming their offspring. What do you think about this? Share some unique names that you’ve come across in the comments below!